Seminary Unboxed

see details here: https://mattayars.com/fire-holy-spirit/

Romans 8:1-11, known as the “inner sanctuary of the cathedral of faith” is a definitive declaration on the freedom that Christians have in Christ, the new life given through the Holy Spirit, and the ongoing transformation that takes place as we live according to the Spirit rather than the flesh.

Find the full sermon outline here:

https://wellspringms.church/your-past-does-not-define-you/

Romans 6 (among other passages) plainly teaches that the goal of Jesus's redemptive work is to break the power of sin (i.e., regeneration, not just the guilt of sin/justification). Once the individual is born again/regenerated, we have to practice spiritual disciplines to break unholy habits.

As we look at Romans 5:12–21 (the classic text on the doctrine of Original Sin), we will ask and answer the question, "Must sinning be automatic?"

This episode explores why God alone merits worship. In a word, it's because he is holy.

This episode asks and answers the question, "How is the book of Psalms like the Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)?" The answer is, both give us instructions on how to get into God's presence.

1.     Disruption. Demons aggravate existing situations. They push, prod, tempt, and entice people to make poor or unwise decisions. They work to make bad things worse and get people to overdo good things so that once-good things are no longer positive.

2.     Temptation. Satan tempted Eve (Gen. 3:1–7) and Jesus (Matt. 16:21–23). It seems they can put ideas in people’s minds and tempt in areas of greatest vulnerability.

3.     Hiddenness. Demons like to stay hidden. They want people to think they don’t exist. Being aware that a problem is demonic is more than half the battle. 

4.     Fear. Demons want us to fear them. It keeps us under their control. Demons can be greatly weakened through repentance and inner healing. They are not to feared. 

5.     Deceit. Deceit is one of the primary strategies of the demonic. They lie about people and God. They also slander. Their lies can be direct contradictions or sometimes indirect questioning of truth. 

6.     Hindrance. Demons want to stop the advance of the gospel and the spreading of the Kingdom of God. They hinder Christians from effectiveness in ministry and non-Christina’s from receptivity to the gospel. They will attack Christians to keep them in church or attending Bible study, small group, or any place where grace is dispensed into their lives. They push to make our minds wander to distract from sermons or edifying messages. 

7.     Accusation. Demons cripple through accusation. They whisper accusations of others and undermine relationships. They especially make accusations about God (Gen. 3).

8.     Enablement. Demons enable compulsions. They delight in helping people to develop a compulsive approach to both good and bad behavior. They encourage harmful compulsive behavior as well as overdoing “good” things like work, study, doctrinal purity, family, achievement, etc. 

9.     Harassment. Demons want to disrupt our lives using whatever means possible. This includes traffic, weather, health, stress, relationships, sleep, eating habits, and even mechanical objects (cars, computers, etc.). 

Jesus plainly teaches in Matthew 18:21–35 that people who are forgiven yet refuse to forgive others are evil (and will themselves go unforgiven). Grace is the means through which the Kingdom comes into the world. Yes, this means the grace that God gives us that “while we were still sinners…but also the grace that we give one another that “while we were still sinners”! In this passage Paul discusses the kind of faith that Abraham had as the forefather of the faith. God’s plan was to redeem the world and he would do it through a family. What is the trademark of that family? It is deep trust in the incomprehensible promises of God. Often times it’s more difficult for us to believe that God will possible judge the world rightly (evidenced in our frequent refusal to forgive one another) than it is to believe in bodily resurrection. Saving faith is one that is quick to give out grace and forgive. A family that matches that characteristic is the family of God. It is a family that embodies the heart of its Father.

Intimacy with Jesus is the silver bullet to spiritual warfare.

One of the primary strategies of Satan in keeping us from growing in Christ and to stunt effectiveness in ministry is to keep us ignorant of the power and authority we have in Jesus. Satan is jealous of us. He had a place of authority prior to his fall and humans were given authority over the created, material world (Gen. 1:26 and Ps. 8:5). Satan hates God and therefore hates who God loves.

The satanic kingdom wants us to fear it. Fear is an instrument used by the powers of darkness to keep Christians blinded from our power and authority in Jesus. Understanding our power and authority in Jesus diffuses that fear.

The power of the demonic depends completely on the garbage off which they feed and live. Removing the garbage of sin and getting healing for damaged emotions weakens the powers of darkness. One of the best ways to exercise our power over darkness is by getting rid of garbage.

A brief study on Revelation 4:1–4. While there is some debate among scholars, what seems sure is that the 24 elders represent the whole people of God in the throne room of worship. This 24 are represented as the 12 tribes of Israel with the 12 disciples—meaning OT people of God and NT people of God together as the entire people of God (much like the 144,000).